The CDC recently published a scary statistic: 300,000. That’s the number of new cases of Lyme disease now occurring each year in the USA.

That’s 10 times the CDC’s former estimate, and the reason it’s so scary is that Lyme disease has something like 350 “co-infections” that can occur as well. Lyme disease is insidious because it can lie dormant for years, until a trigger event such as stress activates one or more illnesses.

Lyme disease, typically acquired from the bite of specific insects carrying any of a specific group of parasites/ bacteria, often brings with it a variety of other illnesses or “co-infections”. This Lyme disease “complex” includes a number of documented illnesses, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, aka Epstein-Barr virus — once called by the media “Yuppie disease”) and possibly has a link to Fibromyalgia and other ailments.

When it does manifest, due to stress or deteriorating health, Lyme disease can bring with it any of hundreds of other co-infections. The difficulty for many sufferers is that not all medical professional believe it exists, and even those who do don’t know enough about it. It’s an illness for which there’s a short time window for effective treatment.
Source: Nursing School Hub

Comments (11)

You are correct in most of your facts except two where you state “the reason it’s so scary is that Lyme disease has something like 350 “co-infections” that can occur as well.” You need to go back and read the other website because that’s not what they said. What they stated was Lyme can cause over 350 chronic conditions/diseases. Then they went on to talk about the coinfections. There are about 8 coinfections. Now, just because someone has these diseases doesn’t necessarily mean they have Lyme Disease but they definitely have some kind of chronic infection causing their disease. Parkinsons, for example, can be caused by several different infections.

Lyme is not also known as Babesioa. Babesiosis is a co-infection and it is a parasite, not a bacteria, that causes malaria like symptoms.

Please change your map. Get in touch with Maria Esteves Gassent at A&M University who has been studying ticks in Texas. Also talk to Kerry Clarke at University of North Florida and his study involving lone stari ticks whereas he found borrelia burgdoreri. Problem is with the assumption is that citizens are not informed, thus take no precautions and don’t know to check themselves and monitor symptoms.

Thanks for charts, but do NOT wear DEET. It’s toxic. THere are herbal remedies that use pure essential oils without harsh chemicals that can irritate the immune system. I’ve seen many homemade remedies shared on facebook too.

I contracted the tick borne viruses years ago! Probably around 1999. My first drastic symtoms appeared in 2000 and I was diagnoised with chroinc fatigue syndrome. I think I slept for a year. I got better but never the same. I stumbled and fell easily and often, memory is horrible and mood swings terrible. Depression has been almost unbearable. I was diagnoised with Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever, Erlichea, and the Bora? Went on a strict diet and antibiotics 4 years ago. Have been on them off and on since then. I have at least 2 days a week that I am in bed all day! The most recent retesting has been positive for Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever. The spinal tap I had at Mayo clinic showed that I had had a virus but didn’t name it.

I really want my life back. Sometimes I get out of bed ready to go and other days I can hardly walk to get to the bathroom. If I pass a bed I just want to get in it and sleep. I have Bells Palsy sometimes in my face, my legs hurt often. I dont’ know what to do! I want to live and be productive. Now I can’t keep my house clean!!!

Vicki above is absolutely correct! As well your chart on where lyme is is terribly inaccurate!! Lyme has been found on ALL 50 states. A few have low incidence. I believe its the Lyme Disease Assoc that had an accurate map to use. Please don’t give people a false sense of security!

It really infuriates me that the prevalence of Lyme in Florida continues to be ignored. Ticks here are active YEAR LONG!! It’s ALWAYS warm here. So many bedridden, and so many lost, due to the misconception that Florida is not a HIGH RISK area.

This has been one of the best articles and I wish I couls share it to help all understand. But I do not want to share mis-information. All of the above corrections are what I am also aware of. I wouols LOVE a reprint with corrections to help people understand. And yes it is in Florida. I have it and have convinced 2 doctors in my area to test for it and they are having so many positive cases that the county health department called to see what was going on. if Doctors think it is not here. it will not be tested for and so is it not here?